Device for storing and packaging materials

ABSTRACT

A device for holding a flexible bag to form a container comprising two coextensive parallel straight resilient strips connected at their ends and provided with mounting means.

United States Patent Grenetier 3 0 997 00999 O2/I1/// O OOOOOO /50000444 9 44222 D .22

Beede Bumgamer et a1.

Kurlander et FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS a. mn m a mwm m nfm b hbmm m oouy CHRR 0 00337700 55566666 99999999 HHHHHHHH 7425 7 3 05325206 50229827 ,7 ,2 ,5 473 924 429 257 1 1 ,33 22233333 G W G M u C d e A P mm T m m 0 Ga 0 M m re 1 9 R mm m. s,

Ofl RH M 3 F 5 M CE t I n .m l A v e w DM m m A 1 4 6 2 5 7 2 .1 r1 .1

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data May 23, 1972 France........................l.....

Feb. 23, 1973 France..............................

[52] US. [51] Int. [58] Field of Search...........

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS /5 comprlsmg two coextenslve parallel stralght resilient 150/5 strips connected at their ends and provided with 150/10 mounting means.

150/4 248/97 8 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures Edwards M m" mam hrfi& flea tmf .8 0 MHLN 565 2 902344 899999 HHHHH 83235 507527 8564 5 q 4468 9 4 6946 585 32 2 22 Sheet 1 of 2 3,912,208

U.S. Patent Oct. 14, 1975' US. Patent Oct. 14, 1975 Sheet 2 of2 3,912,208

DEVICE FOR STORING AND PACKAGING MATERIALS The present invention relates to a device for storing and packaging materials, and more particularly to a holder for holding and closing removable flexible bags which can be used either for storing rubbish or household refuse, or for the packaging and presentation of merchandise such as foodstuffs.

In the present state of the art, devices of this type are generally complicated to construct and difficult to use.

The invention aims to overcome this disadvantage and its object is to produce a device of the abovementioned type which is simple to make and to handle and is suitable for hermetically sealing the removable bag.

According to the present invention there is provided a device for holding and closing a removable flexible bag, such device comprising a deformable band consisting of two equal length strips having a profiled cross section to form a spring, said strips being juxtaposed parallel to one another and located opposite one another with-their opposed faces each having at least one convex part, and connected to one another at each of their ends such that at rest the said strips are in contact with one another or very close to one another along at least one longitudinally extending zone, and means for mounting one of the strips in a central zone of its length to a supporting surface, whereby a flexible bag can be removably held by the deformable band with the neck of the bag being passed through the said band and folded back over the outer face of the band.

Thus, in this new device, it is possible to enclose materials, for example waste materials, after having placed these waste materials in the removable bag held by the device. This eliminates foul smells and prevents the spread of germs by parasitic insects, and furthermore means that the device may in some embodiments serve a frame holding the bag to enable the bag neck to be tied while the bag is gripped between the two strips at rest.

Where the stored materials consist of foodstuffs, the air enclosed in the bag at the time of the closing movement of the band assists the heat insulation of the said foodstuffs relative to the atmosphere.

Removal of the bag may be carried out very simply without tying up, if desired, merely by separating the strips from one another and by gripping the folded-over part of the neck of the said bag.

In order that the present invention may be better un derstood, the following description is given of three embodiments of the invention, merely by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of a first embodiment of the device according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view corresponding to an elevation and vertical cross-section along the line III-III of FIG. 2 but showing a second embodiment of the device; and

FIG. 4 is a partial view in perspective showing a third embodiment of the device.

FIGS. 1 to 4 represent various embodiments of a device for storing and packaging for example household or industrial rubbish or foodstuffs such as meat, sausages, citrus fruits and the like. This device has means for holding and hermetically sealing a removable flexible bag, for example, a plastics bag 1 of rectangular shape.

As can be seen in FIGS. 1 to 3, the means for holding and closing the removable bag consist of a deformable band 2.

The neck of the bag 1 is passed through the deformable band 2 and is folded back over the outer face of the latter (as shown in FIG. 3 which illustrates a modified embodiment of the device of FIGS. 1 and 2). The deformable band 2 is produced from two strips 3 and 4 which have a general elongated rectangular shape with rounded angles. The strips 3 and 4 are both of identical shape and have a cross-section along their entire length following a constant profile in the shape of an arc of a circle. Thus, despite their profile they form a spring by virtue of their low thickness and of the elastic property of the material of which they are made, which material can be a metal such as steel or an elastic plastics material.

In other words, it is possible to make the strips 3 and 4 undergo flexural elastic deformation in the direction of their length as is represented by the broken lines 30 and 4a of FIG. 2. The strips 3 and 4 are juxtaposed parallel to one another and are located opposite one another in such a way that their convex faces 3b and 412 face each other. In order to form the deformable band 2, the strips 3 and 4 are connected to one another at each pair of adjacent ends in such a way that, at rest, the said strips 3 and 4 are in contact with one another or very close to one another, along a generatrix and over their entire length.

For this purpose, the strips 3 and 4 are attached to one another at their ends by means of deformable connecting U-clamps 5 which, in the example represented, are made of rubber. Each connecting U-clamp 5 forms a hinge between the ends of the said strips 3 and 4 and covers the outside of the latter in a median zone of their corresponding end edge (see FIG. 1). Each arm 5a of a connecting U-clamp 5 is firmly fixed, for example by gluing, to the corresponding strip 3 or 4.

The centre part 5b of each connecting U-clamp 5, which forms the hinge axis, extends transversely relative to the strips 3 and 4, is situated very close to the adjacent end of the said strips 3 and 4, and is practically inextensible. Because of this characteristic, the perimeter of the deformable band 2 remains substantially constant when the strips 3 and 4 are moved apart from one another into an unstable position such as that represented by broken lines at 3a and 4a, in FIG. 2. Thus, no additional stress is applied to the neck of the bag 1 during opening of the said bag 1 by separating movement of the strips 3 and 4 into a position such as 3a and 4a.

Advantageously, the convex or outer face 5c of each U-clamp 5 is rounded so that the flexible bag 1 can rest against the said outer face 50 without running the risk of being torn.

One of the strips, the so-called back strip, 3, is attached by means of rivets at 6 in a median zone of its length to a supporting component. In the present case this supporting component consists of a plane vertical surface such as a wall 7. The back strip 3 is attached to the wall 7 via a sheet or plate 8 which is applied and attached, by its back face equipped with a self-adhesive layer 8a, to the said surface 7. A spacer component of parallelepipedonal shape 9 is interposed between the back strip 3 and the plate 8 and attachment rivets 6 pass right through it.

When the bag is filled with material the above described device can only hold the bag in a vertical position. In the example represented in FIG. 3, the bag 1 is not sufficiently deep for its base to rest on the floor and it is therefore in this embodiment necessary that each of the strips 3 and 4 should be profiled over its entire length, so as to prevent the bag 1 from opening spontaneously due to the effect of forces exerted on the ends of the pair of strips 3 and 4, these forces resulting from the weight of the bag 1 itself.

The strips 3 and 4 are attached to the supporting surface 7 in such a way that the longitudinal axis of each strip 3 and 4 is substantially horizontal and that the chordal plane of each profiled strip is substantially vertical.

Advantageously, the perimeter of the deformable band 2 is slightly greater than that of the neck of the bag 1 and, as can be seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, the foldedover part la of the said neck of the bag 1 has a greater width than that of the strips 3 and 4 so that the free edge of the said folded-over part 1a can be stretched over the band outer perimeter and can press against the wall of the bag 1 to make the suspension of the said bag 1 on the band 2 very secure.

The strip 4 opposite the back strip 3, the so-called front strip 4, is connected to an opening member in the form of a handle 11 (FIG. 1) formed as a square ring 1] attached to the said front strip 4 in a median Zone of the length of the latter. In FIG. 3, the opening member is a ring which is connected to a pedal member, will be described below.

The pedal member of FIG. 3, consists of a lever 12 hinged at its end nearest the surface 7 to a fixed horizontal axis 13. The level 12 is connected at a point 12a a certain distance from the hinge axis 13, to a pull rod whose upper end engages the square ring 14 attached to the front strip 4. The lever 12 thus defines a pedal portion 15 at its end opposite the hinge axis 13. The upper end of the transmission rod 16 is in the shape of a hood 160 which is inserted in the said connecting ring 14.

FIG. 4 shows a variant of the pedal member of FIG. 3 and in this embodiment the lever consists of a rigid U-bar 17, whose centre part 170 forms the pedal portion of the said lever and whose arms 17b are attached at their free ends to one and the same horizontal rod 18 which pivots in fixed bearings 19 and forms the hinge axis. The pull rod in this embodiment consists of two rigid rods 20, each of which is attached at its lower end at 170 to a respective arm 17]) of the U-bar at the same distance a from the hinge axis 18 in each case. At its upper end each rod 20 is connected to a corresponding end of a rigid rod 21 which forms a connecting component and extends parallel to and alongside the front strip 4 and is attached to the latter in a median zone of its length by way of spacer components 22.

I claim:

1. A bag holding device for removably supporting a flexible bag having a mouth with its mouth normally in the closed position, said device comprising a pair of relatively long and narrow strips of flexible, resilient material of substantially equal length, each of said strips having a pair of side edges extending in the direction of its length, a pair of opposite faces extending from one side edge thereof to the other side edge thereof and a pair of end edges at its longitudinally opposite ends, and at least a portion of one said face of each strip being convex in a cross-section taken transversely of the length of the strip, holding means holding said strips together with their lengths extending substantially parallel, with said one face of one said strip facing said one face of the other said strip and with the convex portion of said one face of one said strip in contact with the convex portion of said one face of the other said strip along a line extending lengthwise of said strips, said holding means comprising a pair of deformable U- clamps, one at one of the ends of said strips and the other at the other ends of said strips engaging and connecting said strips together but permitting said strips to bend away from each other intermediate their ends to provide space therebetween for permitting said bag to be passed therebetween in a direction transversely of the length of said strips, said strips when so bent away from each other being readily separablefrom said bag to permit removal thereof from between said strips, said U-clamps forming a hinge between and at the ends of said strips and each of said U-clamps having a pair of arms engaging the faces of the strips other than said one faces, each said clamp having a substantially inextensible centre part between said arms which forms the hinge axis, extends transversely relative to the length of said strips, and is situated very close to the adjacent end of the strips, each of said arms of each of said U-clamps being firmly fixed to a corresponding one of said strips, and mounting means for attaching one of said strips to a support, said mounting means engaging said lastmentioned one of said strips midway of its length, whereby a bag may be inserted and removed from between said strips at its mouth by spreading said strips apart and by moving said bag with respect thereto and whereby a bag will normally be held closed at its mouth by said strips when they are released due to the resiliency of the strips which urges the one faces thereof into contact.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said mounting means comprises a plate connected to said one strip, and wherein a spacer component is interposed between the said one strip and the said plate.

3. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said one face of both of said strips is convex in cross-section along the entire length of the strips.

4. A device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising separating means connected to the strip opposite to said last-mentioned one strip for separating the two strips, said separating means being connected to said opposite strip midway thereof.

5. A device as set forth in claim 4, wherein said separating means consists of a handle attached to said opposite strip midway along the latter.

6. A device as set forth in claim 4, wherein the separating means comprises a lever, pivot means at one end of said lever defining a horizontal fixed axis, a connecting component attached to the said opposite st rip mid way therealong, and linkage means connected between said connecting component and a point on said lever spaced from said one end, said lever including means defining a pedal at the end opposite said one end.

7. A device as set forth in claim 6, wherein said linkage means comprises a rigid rod having one end attached to said lever and the other end attached to the connecting component.

8. A device as set forth in claim 6, wherein said lever consists of a rigid U-bar, said U-bar having a centre part which defines the pedal, and arms; wherein a rod therealon'g; and wherein the linkage means consists of 5 two rigid rods, each of which is attached at one end, to one of said arms of the U-bar at the same distance from the pivot means and at its other end to a corresponding 

1. A bag holding device for removably supporting a flexible bag having a mouth with its mouth normally in the closed position, said device comprising a pair of relatively long and narrow strips of flexible, resilient material of substantially equal length, each of said strips having a pair of side edges extending in the direction of its length, a pair of opposite faces extending from one side edge thereof to the other side edge thereof and a pair of end edges at its longitudinally opposite ends, and at least a portion of one said face of each strip being convex in a cross-section taken transversely of the length of the strip, holding means holding said strips together with their lengths extending substantially parallel, with said one face of one said strip facing said one face of the other said strip and with the convex portion of said one face of one said strip in contact with the convex portion of said one face of the other said strip alOng a line extending lengthwise of said strips, said holding means comprising a pair of deformable U-clamps, one at one of the ends of said strips and the other at the other ends of said strips engaging and connecting said strips together but permitting said strips to bend away from each other intermediate their ends to provide space therebetween for permitting said bag to be passed therebetween in a direction transversely of the length of said strips, said strips when so bent away from each other being readily separable from said bag to permit removal thereof from between said strips, said U-clamps forming a hinge between and at the ends of said strips and each of said U-clamps having a pair of arms engaging the faces of the strips other than said one faces, each said clamp having a substantially inextensible centre part between said arms which forms the hinge axis, extends transversely relative to the length of said strips, and is situated very close to the adjacent end of the strips, each of said arms of each of said U-clamps being firmly fixed to a corresponding one of said strips, and mounting means for attaching one of said strips to a support, said mounting means engaging said last-mentioned one of said strips midway of its length, whereby a bag may be inserted and removed from between said strips at its mouth by spreading said strips apart and by moving said bag with respect thereto and whereby a bag will normally be held closed at its mouth by said strips when they are released due to the resiliency of the strips which urges the one faces thereof into contact.
 2. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said mounting means comprises a plate connected to said one strip, and wherein a spacer component is interposed between the said one strip and the said plate.
 3. A device as set forth in claim 1, wherein said one face of both of said strips is convex in cross-section along the entire length of the strips.
 4. A device as set forth in claim 1, further comprising separating means connected to the strip opposite to said last-mentioned one strip for separating the two strips, said separating means being connected to said opposite strip midway thereof.
 5. A device as set forth in claim 4, wherein said separating means consists of a handle attached to said opposite strip midway along the latter.
 6. A device as set forth in claim 4, wherein the separating means comprises a lever, pivot means at one end of said lever defining a horizontal fixed axis, a connecting component attached to the said opposite strip midway therealong, and linkage means connected between said connecting component and a point on said lever spaced from said one end, said lever including means defining a pedal at the end opposite said one end.
 7. A device as set forth in claim 6, wherein said linkage means comprises a rigid rod having one end attached to said lever and the other end attached to the connecting component.
 8. A device as set forth in claim 6, wherein said lever consists of a rigid U-bar, said U-bar having a centre part which defines the pedal, and arms; wherein a rod is attached at the free ends of said arms to form the pivot means; wherein the connecting component comprises a rod extending parallel to and alongside said opposite strip and being attached to the latter midway therealong; and wherein the linkage means consists of two rigid rods, each of which is attached at one end, to one of said arms of the U-bar at the same distance from the pivot means and at its other end to a corresponding end of said rod. 